When beggars began to turn up in droves at a local religious festival,
Chinese officials came up with a rather unusual - and some say cruel -
solution, a human cage:

According to a Nanchang official, in recent years the number of beggars
turning up for the local religious festival has increased to a point
where they’re actually making temple visitors uncomfortable with
their lamenting and pleading for some pocket change. So this year, to
make sure everyone attending the festivities will be left alone, they
decided to separate the hundreds of beggars in small metal cages around
the festival grounds, where people can still give donations if they
wish, but without being followed around and nagged while they’re
on a day out with their family.

“The beggars are quite comfortable in their cages, people send
them food and water as gifts. In a way it is better for them there than
having to find a place on the busy streets,” festival organizers
said.” The beggars can leave whenever they like but they have
to leave the city too, they can’t go into the fair,’ they
added.

Human rights activists are not amused:

“Do they want people to believe the region has no poor people
and just put on a good show? These people need help. We should not be
allowing them to be locked away in cages. These people are human beings
too,” one said, while another commented “They are treating
them like zoo animals. What will they have to do next – tricks
for their food? This is nothing but public humiliation!”

I must agree, there's a difference between just begging and aggressive panhandling, the latter being basically harassment.

I'm not sure where the "human rights activists" get the idea the authorities are trying to make it look like "the region has no poor people". They're right there, in cages, all around the festival grounds. One could almost say that the poor from the region are on prominent display where festival attendees can give them alms conveniently if they choose to. This solution seems better than just removing the panhandlers altogether or arresting them under selectively-applied anti-camping/anti-loitering/anti-panhandling ordinances, which is what a lot of municipalities around the USA do to get rid of unsightly hobos and homeless people.